


How to Pair Off Your Daddy

by doctor__idiot



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Danny and Steve being oblivious, First Kiss, M/M, Sneaky Grace is sneaky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-29
Updated: 2013-03-29
Packaged: 2017-12-06 21:09:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/740197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctor__idiot/pseuds/doctor__idiot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Practically everyone knows that Steve and Danny are hopelessly in love. Everyone, except them. Grace finds she needs to do something about that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How to Pair Off Your Daddy

**Author's Note:**

> I love Grace and I wanted to integrate her in a fic and I think without a bit of female supervision, Danny and Steve will still be dancing around each other in 20 years or so. I've never tried writing kids before and I find it surprisingly difficult.
> 
> Disclaimer: The idea is mine. Unfortunately, nothing else is.

When Lt. Commander Steven McGarrett enters his office at Five-0 Headquarters, he immediately stops dead in his tracks.  
He blinks one, two, three times, and just as surprised laughter bubbles up in him, Danny lifts one finger and says, “Don’t you dare laugh.”

Steve holds up his hands in a defensive manner and clamps his lips shut, his shaking rib cage giving him away.  
Technically, he doesn’t have to take orders from his Detective but he is well aware of how cranky the blond could get when feeling mocked.

“Hey Gracie.” Steve smiles at the little girl sitting on his desk.

She quickly places glittery pink clip number 23 in Danny’s combed-back hair with a practiced hand before hopping to the floor.

“Hi Uncle Steve.” Hugging his leg in a greeting and squeezing happily, she looks up at him. “Don’t you think Daddy looks pretty? He says he looks stupid.” She scrunches up her nose.

Steve lightly pats her head, twirling her ponytail around his index finger once. “Well, he’s wrong. And I always think your daddy looks pretty.”

He turns to his partner just in time to see him roll his eyes but there is amusement in the corner of his eyes.

~*~

“You know, you didn’t have to come.” 

Steve looks at his partner and finds that Danny’s eyes are contradicting the statement, that they are saying _Thank you_. He smiles.

“Well, I know Rachel couldn’t make it and Grace wanted me to come. It’s a nice change, too.”

Danny nods, smiling, and they start looking for their seats. The school’s auditorium where the kids’ play would take place isn’t very big, so they still have a good view at the stage even though they are sitting in the 12th row.

“No tie,” Steve notices, lifting one eyebrow. His smile grows wider when Danny glares at him.

“Yeah, well. I’m not working right now.”

They sit in silence during the announcement, the opening of the curtains and the first few scenes.  
Eventually, they begin talking about the costumes and the stage design and Grace’s performances, of course.

They don’t talk about how close they are sitting and how Steve has to lean down to basically whisper in Danny’s ear so they wouldn’t disturb the people. They don’t talk about their knees touching and they don’t talk about Danny automatically leaning back when Steve rests his arm along the back of Danny’s chair.

When the play is over, Danny sweeps his overly joyous daughter in his arms, not caring that he is probably getting make-up on his shirt, and they listen to her ramble about how much she loved being up on that stage, receiving standing ovations.

“Daddy? Can we get ice cream?” Grace suddenly asks, interrupting her own stream of words.

Danny nods and lovingly ruffles her hair. “Sure we can.” He puts her back to her feet. “Go change out of your costume. I’m pretty sure the school would like to keep it. We’ll be right here.”

Grace looks down at herself as if she forgot that she is still wearing a costume. “Okay,” she says and runs off, still full of energy.

“You want some ice cream, too?” Danny looks at Steve now. 

Steve nods. “Sure.” 

“Great. Your treat.”

The ex-SEAL laughs out loud at that.

~*~

“Are you in love with Uncle Steve?”

Danny stops dead in his tracks, gripping the coffee cup in his hand just a little too tightly. “What do you mean, honey?”

Grace flops onto her stomach, making the mattress bounce. “Yesterday, I asked Mommy how you know if you’re in love with someone. And she said that people get this look in their eyes. You know, when they’re looking at the person they’re in love with.”

The Detective finally unfreezes and walks over to the bed, kneeling down in front of his daughter. He nods. “I guess that’s true. What else did she say?”

“That you can never be really angry with them and that your heart beats really fast when you see them and that you get little butterflies in your tummy. But that's not right, is it?” Grace tilts her head, the contemplating look on her face making Danny smile.

“See, they are no real butterflies. How would they get into your tummy? Unless you eat them, of course.”

Grace chuckles.

“But your mom’s right. It feels like there are thousands of butterflies flying around in there. Why were you asking, monkey? Do you think you’re in love?”

Grace shakes her head. “No, but yesterday in school, Lilly said she’s in love and I wanted to know what it feels like.”

“And why did you ask if I’m in love with Steve?” Danny decides to take the step onto the thin ice.

“Because you have that look.” Grace points two fingers at her eyes. “When you look at him.”

For once, Danny doesn’t know what to say to his daughter. 

She goes on. “Does your heart beat faster then? Do you have not-butterflies in your tummy?”

Danny combs a hand through his hair, making it stick up in several different directions. “I– I don’t...” He takes a deep breath. “You know, sometimes it’s not so simple. But to answer your question: Yes, I do get butterflies. It’s a pain in the backside really.”

Grace giggles and pokes him playfully. “So you are in love with him.” This time it isn’t a question.

The truth is, Danny isn’t even sure of that himself – not to mention trying to explain it to his 8-year-old daughter, but kids have a way of making complicated things seem so simple. Perhaps he needs that once in a while.

“Then why are you all sad?” she inquires further, “Aren’t you supposed to be happy when you’re in love?”

Danny tries a smile. “True. But when you don’t know whether the other person shares your feelings, it can be very difficult and not much fun at all.”

At that Grace grins widely. “You dummy,” she says, “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Why’s that?”

She looks at him as if he asked her why the sun rises in the morning. “Because of his look, of course.”

Now he is just confused. “What look?”

Grace cocks her head and looks at him with mock-seriousness. “Did you hurt your head?”

“Hey.” Danny lifts a finger in front of her nose and her eyes cross in an attempt to look at it. “Watch it, missus.”

She grins again. “I mean the way he looks at you when you don’t see it.”

Danny is stunned.

~*~

“Why are you always _always_ going against what I say?” Danny throws up his hands to emphasize his point. “Do you do that on purpose, just to spite me?”

“No.” Steve is annoyingly calm and it drives Danny even further up the wall. “I simply like to do things my way.”

“ _That_ you made pretty clear over the last few months. But I’d still like to encourage you to consider that your way isn’t always the best one, hotshot.” Danny practically rips off his tie and dumps it on his desk. It is definitely too hot in here.

Steve is standing less than three feet away from him, arms crossed in front of his chest, perfect composure as always. Maddening. “What is your problem?”

“What my problem is?” Danny stabs a finger into Steve’s unfairly muscular chest and doesn’t care that it is a childish thing to do. “You are, mister.” Another stab. “How often do I have to tell you that you can’t just butt in when I’m interrogating a suspect which, mind you, I perfectly know how to handle, thank you very much, and completely undermine my authority, plus nearly scare her to death with your Rambo demeanor and your freakish height and your deep voice and your ridiculous–“

Steve kisses him. Grabbing the hand that is poking at his chest and holding it at the wrist, he simultaneously takes hold of Danny’s jaw with his free hand and seals his lips with his own, effectively shutting him up.

“Are you done?” he asks with a glint in his eyes when he pulls away.

Danny stares at him for a few heartbeats. There were some other things he wanted to throw at Steve’s head but they aren’t important right now. “Yeah, I'm done,” he says slightly breathlessly.

Steve grins. “Good.” And he kisses him again.

Danny’s mouth automatically opens under his and they are basically tangled up in one another before they know it. Danny’s hands are around Steve’s waist and on his hips and Steve’s finger bury into Danny’s blond hair, keeping him close with a hand splayed between his shoulder blades.

They are both breathing hard when they finally separate and the temperature in Danny’s office seems to have climbed even higher.

“Okay,” Danny manages incoherently. He blinks at Steve, trying to read him. “How did you–? Why–?”

Steve pulls back so he can get a proper look at Danny’s adorably confused features. He can’t seem to wipe the smile off his face. “Why did I kiss you? Because I thought it was about time, although I probably wouldn’t have done it if Grace hadn’t told me to.”

Danny splutters. “Grace told you to kiss me?”

“She told me about the conversation you had and she said I should kiss you because that’s what people do when they’re in love. Her words.” Steve is grinning and it is contagious. 

The corners of Danny’s mouth lift up and soon he is smiling just as brightly. “So she was right then? About us?”

Steve laughs. “It wouldn’t be the first time that she’s right and we have no clue what’s going on.”

“Speak for yourself.” But Danny can’t hide his emotional high right now and he doesn’t want to. Not with warm skin beneath his fingertips and Steve’s arms still around his shoulders.

~*~

When Danny pulls up outside the Edwards estate, Rachel is waiting at the gate. She pushes her sunglasses up into her hair and gives Danny a warm smile when he steps out of the car. 

He grabs Grace’s backpack from the backseat while asking, “How are you doing, Rachel?”

“From what I’ve heard, not as good as you, apparently.” Her smile widens as she hugs Grace hello.

“Um, sorry?” Danny hands over the backpack, confused. 

She laughs, pushing strands of hair away whenever the wind blows them into her face. “I hear you and Steve finally got it together.”

Danny gapes at her, then his gaze shifts to his daughter who is smiling sheepishly. 

“Did everyone know?”

“Everyone except you two, which isn’t a surprise really,” Rachel says, “I’m happy for you.” Her smile is genuine.

Still a little bewildered, Danny manages to say, “Thanks.”

Then something comes to his mind. He crouches down in front of his daughter. “Now tell me, how did you do it?”

Grace beams excitedly, feeling like secret spy. “I told him he should kiss you because you would like that.” All of a sudden, her face drops. “Was that wrong?”

Danny hugs her, smiling. “No, baby. He kissed me all right. And I did like it.” He strokes her hair. “Here’s an idea. Why don’t you do for Lilly what you did for Steve and me, hm?"

Grace’s face lights up again and she nods enthusiastically. Danny holds up a hand. “But be careful, okay? Sometimes people don’t like it if you meddle in their business and you have to respect that. So maybe ask her first, all right?”

She nods to show that she understands.

“That’s my girl.” Danny kisses her on her hair and stands back up. When he looks at Rachel, her amusement is openly showing on her face.

“Did you already know when you two,” he gestures back and forth between Rachel and Grace, “had that little talk of yours?”

Laughing, Rachel answers, “Not what I had in mind when she asked but I knew from the moment you two barged in here to keep tabs on the neighbours.”

Danny nods but doesn’t say anything. He isn’t going to be surprised anymore today. Maybe it has been obvious all the time to everyone but him. And Steve, but if his behavior during cases is anything to go by, Steve wouldn’t recognize subtlety if it bit him in the nose.  
Danny makes a mental note to ask Kono and Chin if they knew.

“By the way,” the Detective continues, “I wanted to ask you if you would be fine with it if I have Grace for a few days next week. The governor is giving us a few days off and Steve and I would like to take Grace camping. Maybe–“

He is interrupted by an excited squeak. Grace is beaming like the sun and jumping up and down next to them. "Oh, Mommy, can I go, pleeeease?"

Rachel shoots him a look that clearly says _That's not fair-play, mister_ but she doesn't stop smiling when she looks down at her daughter. “Sure you can, honey.”

Grace first hugs her mom then her dad. “Can we have a bon fire?” she asks enthusiastically, “And roasted marshmallows?”

“I’ll make sure of it.” Danny laughs and lifts Grace up, seating her onto his hip. “Hey, maybe Lilly wants to come?”

Grace nods her head. “Can I ask her?”

“Sure. Tell her parents to call me.”

The girl put her arms around his neck. “Thanks, Danno.”

The Detective grins and ruffles her hair, making her squeak. He kisses her on the cheek before putting her down. “Love you, okay?”

She nods. “Love you, too.”

Danny kisses Rachel on the cheek as well. “I’ll call because of next week, okay? And I’ll try to keep Steve from inflicting his understanding of survival skills on the kids.”

Rachel’s smile is mischievous. “I’m sure you know how to keep him occupied,” she jokes.

“That's not–“ Danny can’t believe he is blushing. “I’m not– I’ll keep it PG on behalf of the kids. You’re welcome.”

Rachel laughs. “Very noble of you.”

Danny joins her laughter when Grace looks up at them with complete lack of comprehension and her patented ‘adults are idiots’ look.

When Danny pulls out of the driveway, both girls wave him good bye.


End file.
